At a highly-anticipated unveiling at 17 Wing Winnipeg on Tuesday morning, a quartet of Jets’ players walked out of a Hercules airplane and revealed sharp-looking home and away jerseys before a crowd of roughly 200 invited media and guests.

In a summer full of highlights and signature moments, witnessing the latest landmark event and seeing the dramatic entrance of captain Andrew Ladd, Winkler product Eric Fehr, forward Nik Antropov and defenceman Mark Stuart was something to behold.

“Goose bumps,” said Jets co-owner and governor Mark Chipman. “It’s a combination of A, those are our guys and then, seeing them in our jersey.

“That’s the first time we’ve let anybody really put it on and that’s the way it should be.”

After seeing a photo of the logo leaked online prior to the official unveiling last month, the Jets took extra steps to prevent that from happening this time around.

Not even the players who were modelling the new jerseys had an opportunity to get a sneak peak before setting foot in the Hercules plane.

The primary colour on the home jerseys is a crisp navy blue — known as Polar Night Blue and found on many Royal Canadian Air Force planes — while the secondary colour is is a lighter blue — Aviator Blue, which closely resembles the colour worn on the jerseys of the 1948 RCAF Flyers.

A distinguishing feature of the road white jerseys are the Polar Night Blue sleeves, with stripes near the elbow and underneath the numbers.

Coming up with a modern look while keeping in touch with the classic roots of the Jets was challenging, but ultimately achieved in the process.

“You try to do a whole bunch of things,” said Chipman. “You want something that’s unique but you also want it to be simple. I think we captured that. You put it all together and it just seems to fit together.”

The reaction from the Jets players in attendance was simply glowing.

“They’re great,” said Ladd. “It’s going to look sharp on the ice. They did a great job with the lines and the patches too. It’s our identity and what we’ll be wearing every night and what fans will be coming to the rink in.”

Fehr believes the real thing was a lot better looking than some of the suggestions that circulated in cyberspace.

“It’s completely different — definitely better than the mock-ups,” said Fehr. “I like the stripes on the arms and the different blues that they used. It’s a great job of keeping the old Jets blue and kind of bringing in a new jersey and new style.”

General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff couldn’t have imagined a better way to reveal the new look.

“It’s very exciting,” said Cheveldayoff. “A tremendous day and a tremendous feeling of pride to be part of the organization and for all of the hard work by all the people and all the co-ordination, to have it culminated on a picture-perfect day, picture-perfect setting, it’s a very special moment.”

The only so-called damper surrounding all the enthusiasm was that the new jerseys won’t be available for purchase until early October.

But that just gives folks around these parts another thing to look forward to before the season officially begins on Oct. 9 against the Montreal Canadiens.

Today at 4 p.m., fans can log on to www.winnipegjets.com and go to "Jets Gear" to pre-order jerseys. Custom options will be available, including choosing the name and number on the jersey. The Jets site will also be the only place to get jerseys with the inaugural season patch.

Authentic Pro Weight jerseys will be available in early October. Two to three weeks later, the Jets will begin selling replica jerseys.

FANS REACT

The Twitterverse's take on the jerseys:

ugly. They have done everything right except the jerseys. Tn dropped the ball big time ! — shanegroy i can't beleive the complaints, I think they look great, I preordered a blue jersey and can't wait to get it.

— dmiller_58

Well now no one in the #nhl has to worry about being the worst looking team in the league. The #winnipegjets worked hard to get that title

— wloowarrior22

I truly like the fact that the Jets are back, what they wear was not the people's choice....besides it's always easier for people to complain. In this case, True North got the job done! "

— G.c. Thebluebasterd Hart

The fake whites are nicer

— itaintmegabe

Crap the new Winnipeg Jets jersey is awful

— kylet2020

Not a fan of the new #Jets uniform. Where's the red gone?

— chrischarlton80 #

WinnipegJets new jerseys look lame. There's nothing to it!

— Wildhockey1

The new #WinnipegJets jerseys suck. Of course they're going to, with that awful logo. I'll just stick to wearing my 1980's Hawerchuk jersey.

— Messiah4Hire

The #WinnipegJets got it right with their home unis, but Im not sold on the away ones. #NHL

— nikmercer

Didn't the 1980s Leafs and the mid-90s Bruins and Flames teach us that the vertical sleeve stripe is a bad idea? #WinnipegJets

— downtownpaul

I'm loving the new jerseys for the #WinnipegJets! It's great having them back in the #NHL.